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On a memorable night of football, Ajax managed to subject Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge for about an hour, after which Chelsea produced a miraculous comeback to a draw when they capitalized on two red cards and two penalties in their favor. A grand total of eight goals were scored, but the game was marred by a number of controversial calls by the referee and the VAR. Chelsea 4 – 4 Ajax.
Immediately after the opening whistle, the match kicked off with blistering pace and pressure, and both sides were looking determined to score more goals than two weeks prior at the Johan Cruijff Arena (0-1 to Chelsea). It took less than five minutes for both teams to get on the board. When Quincy Promes fired a dangerous free-kick into the Blues box, it was Tammy Abraham who grazed the ball ever so slightly, deflecting it past his own goalkeeper. Chelsea responded directly, with Jorginho calmly converting a penalty conceded by the unfortunate Joel Veltman.
Chelsea even seemed to take the lead shortly after, but Tammy Abraham’s goal was rightfully disallowed for offside. Ajax listened to their wake-up call and started looking a lot more comfortable on the ball, and chances soon followed. A few threatening waves of attack beached on the Chelsea backline before Ajax retook the lead. In the twentieth minute, Ziyech struck a cross with magical precision, putting Quincy Promes one-on-one with Arrizabalaga, and the Dutchman did not fail. It was Ziyech’s second-greatest moment of the night.
In this phase of the match, it was all Ajax. When two of Chelsea’s defenders were struggling to contain captain Dušan Tadić, Marcos Alonso fouled him near the corner flag, conceding a free-kick to Hakim Ziyech. What followed can only be described as genius, and had many Ajax fans reminiscing of Lasse Schöne’s wonder strike at the Bernabéu. Ziyech casually curled the ball over everyone’s head, off the post, onto the face of poor Arrizabalaga, and in. While the goal was officially registered as a Kepa own-goal, all the plaudits went to Ziyech, who turned to the flabbergasted London crowd with a face that said: “You didn’t think I was going to pass, were you?”. Maybe he would have turned to the away fans instead, had they been allowed to attend.
In the remaining ten minutes of the first half, the ball raced from box to box, but neither side produced any substantial attempts on goal, and everyone retreated to the dressing rooms with 1-3 on the board. The second half would prove to be even more spectacular. Chelsea returned to the pitch with the same vigour and urgency they showed in the opening stages of the match, and Ajax was forced to withstand the storm for quite a while. Kurt Zouma came close with an admirable rush, Tammy Abraham tested Onana, but surprisingly, it was Donny van de Beek who scored next. After a classic bit of build-up play over the right flank, the fan-favourite Amsterdammer kept a level head and managed to score in London once again, putting Ajax up by three goals in the fifty-fifth minute. Hakim Ziyech supplied the assist, of course.
While many were thinking the win was in the bag for the Godenzonen, and many Chelsea fans were already making their way to the parking lot, the situation quickly went south for Ajax from that point on. Frank Lampard and his men were not looking to give up just yet and continued to push forward, rather than play damage-control. They were quickly rewarded when captain César Azpilicueta scored a tap-in at the far post, bringing the tally up to 2-4 with half an hour still to play. The fact that he did so from what looked like an offside position went unnoticed by the linesman, and the VAR did not intervene. The worst was yet to come for Ajax Amsterdam.
Disaster struck in the sixty-eighth minute when both Daley Blind and Joel Veltman were sent off simultaneously with second yellows. Blind mistimed his tackle on Tammy Abraham and hit nothing but ankle, while the shot that followed seconds later was blocked by Veltman’s left hand. Some argue that Blind was fouled by Pulisic before any of the above developed, and Veltman was neatly holding his arm beside his body while he had no time to react to a shot that clearly took a deflection from close range. However, Gianluca Rocchi, the Italian referee who had been quick to book players on both sides throughout the game, never hesitated to send both centrebacks off the field, and the VAR was never heard of.
Jorginho put away the awarded penalty to bring the margin down to one goal, and Ajax was forced to redesign their back-line with Edson Álvarez and Perr Schuurs, who made his European debut under extreme circumstances. The nine-headed defense held for three minutes, after which substitute Reece James tied the game up with a merciless strike from a rebound, while dark clouds were forming over Amsterdam.
The match wrapped up in spectacular style. Chelsea scored one more, but actually found themselves denied a goal by the VAR on this occasion. The ball had struck a blue hand, and Ajax got away safely. The nine Ajax players who were still on the field put up an admirable fight in the closing minutes, with André Onana producing a wonderful save, and Edson Álvarez and Noussair Mazraoui actually testing Arrizabalaga on the other end of the pitch. After the fourth official only granted four additional minutes, while it could have been double, the match miraculously ended in a 4-4 draw.
Ajax’s first-ever performance at Stamford Bridge was certainly one for the history books. The match encompassed everything that makes football great, and also everything that makes football insufferable at times. Both clubs will be looking back, wondering how they didn’t win, and how they didn’t lose that night.